about Decatur, GA (where Berkeley and Mayberry coexist)

August 2008

08/31/2008

More motor scooters are hitting metro Atlanta streets, flaunting how
far they go on a gallon of gas. Sellers say scooter sales have at least
tripled since gas hit $4 a gallon this spring. At Twist ‘n’ Scoot on
Piedmont Avenue, shoppers used to have about 50 to browse and test
drive. Lately, the store has about a dozen in stock, and manufacturers
and distributors are just beginning to fill months of back orders.

“Some shoppers were panic-stricken, over the top, buying these
thinking it was going to be the best solution,” said owner Bill Gortno,
who recently opened a Twist ‘n’ Scoot store in Decatur, too.

About 191,000 motorcycles have been registered so far this year,
according to the Georgia Department of Revenue. (The figure includes
scooters with engines large enough to require a tag, but not smaller
scooters on the road.) Already, this year’s figure is a jump from the
2007 total of 174,000 registrations.

Christie Hall, 36, of Decatur, recently bought a sage green
Buddy-brand scooter to run errands and commute to work in Inman Park.
Its 150 cubic centimeter engine gets 85 miles per gallon of gas, so its
fuel bills are lower than her Toyota Rav4’s.

We had real sports in Decatur in this old blogger's younger days, but we didn't have Fantasy Football, which is a relatively new invention which has older roots but really took off in the 80s. See its history at Wikipedia.

It can cost $100 or more to play in one of these leagues, but the payoff can be large.[At the CP, it's winner-take-all for $1200.]

This old blogger, being OCD, stays away from such games, as he's learned previously he'll waste too much time on them, and they'll become as serious as a job. But for others who aren't that competitive, they can be a good form of relaxation from real world stress.

inDECATUR is the last of the three general Decatur blogs to offer an original photo of the Greene's Fine Foods sign, so it will hopefully at a little value by offering you one from a different perspective:

Neither the new owner nor manager has stepped up to explain exactly what the sign means.

It's a shame the beautiful, clean lines have been cluttered with power boxes and a gas meter, which should have been put around on the back.

Here's something you haven't seen before, unless you've been there: The interior construction:

Darren Comer and his wife Amanda own the forthcoming “Dublin pub” The Grange with his siblings Jennifer, Colin, and Alison—all of whom were born and raised in Dublin.

The Comers classify the pub, which is slated for a soft opening in early- to mid-September in the space formerly occupied by The Angel, as traditional meets contemporary.
“We know we’re not a gastropub, but it’s not going to be
‘diddly-iddly,’” Amanda says. “It won’t be a fabricated, country-style
Irish pub.” She points to Dublin pub Searsons of Baggot Street
as a pub the family admires. According to Searsons’ website, the pub
“has a contemporary feel with a traditional Irish bar atmosphere
including a very popular snug.”

Notes may be added until 2PM. Your comments may be added at anytime, of course.

inDECATUR, Decatur's oldest active general blog, is now 1 year and 25 days old, with over 1850 posts.

DECATUR

The big Decatur event, the Decatur Book Festival, is ongoing. The schedule is here. The weather is being very cooperative. inDECATUR will be doing extensive coverage. Look for posts with image and videos later this evening and tomorrow.

The AJC print edition has a small blurb about the 315 W. Ponce (Decatur Court) development.

Rus alerted Decatur Metro to the opening of a new Chinese restaurant called "Jin Jin" at 614 Church St.

Next Stop ... Decatur has a shot of the new Greene's Fine Foods (Nuts-Candy-Gifts-Fun) sign at the old P.O. office building (former home of Wordsmiths) at the corner of Church and Trinity. You can contact Tommy at info@greenesfinefoods.com

METRO ATLANTA

Integrity Bank (in Alpharetta) has failed. Regions Bank will take over [WSB TV]

GEORGIA

Some Georgian won $132M annuity or $82.5M cash in the Mega Millions last night. The ticket was bought in Mableton. Lucky him/her/them.

US

The overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, rose by
3.3 percent in the April-June quarter. This surprised analysts and was
a significant rebound from growth of just 0.9 percent in the first
quarter of the year. Most credit was given to the $93 billion in
economic stimulus payments the federal government has sent to households since May. [mail.com]

Gustav is expected to strengthen to Category 4 in the Gulf. It could strike anywhere between Florida and Texas Monday night.

08/29/2008

We
have a cool event coming up that your readers would love. At Taste we
carry a lot of made in Georgia gourmet products from Fat Matt's BBQ
sauce to locally milled grits. It's good business for us and for the
state of Georgia. Continuing the tradition of promoting Georgia foods
and Southern culture, Taste is having a great book signing at our
store. On Saturday Aug. 30 from 2-4 pm we will host Delia Champion,
the creator of the Flying Biscuit, at our store at 416 Church St. (404)
370-1863. Yes, she is bringing biscuits for the book
festival. The last thing to leave a culture is its food, and we love
to preserve a great culinary tradition in the South.